Alright. The plan was all laid out. Neon was on watch to keep an eye on Neighsay within Canterlot while I had Corkscrew stay at the Ponyville building to make sure Suri did her job. Flash Drive had already gone back home, so I requested the aid of somepony else.
“Ready to go, boss!” the cherry red pegasus saluted with her mechanical wings that flapped elegantly, “But first, check out my skills!”
“Eh, wot?” I had just stepped out of my house, and the pegasus mare did a few flips and loops to show off her capabilities. I chuckled and shook my head. “You always were the one to show off.”
She landed, and her prosthetic wings folded in just like a pair of biological ones. “Uh, doy! Obviously! Of course I have. Everypony always gave me these weird looks when I grew up, so I figured I’d show them what I can do,” she scoffed and waved her hoof, “Peh. You of all ponies should know how I get. So what’s the plan today, boss? Where we headed?”
I took out my notepad. “Well, I’m sure I already made you aware. I came across a kirin that supported a rather….unsavory, pony.” I showed her my notes instead of making a spoken statement. Never knew who listened in, after all. “Our goal is to go meet with the rest of them at the Peaks of Peril and meet with them to see if they knew Freeze Flame and why she would do such a thing.”
The entire time, I had led her to Cozy Glow’s new home. Guttersnipe just now realized this, and pointed a hoof up to the window. “Uh...right. But why are we here again?”
“Simple. We’re going to help her find out the truth so she can face it. Then she can start working with the race to help them out.”
Before I could reach for the door, she stopped me. “Um, are you sure this is a good idea? Bringing her along, I mean. What exactly even are we dealing with?”
“Well, for one thing, the kirin race is in a bit of a problem. Their numbers are slowly on a decline due to the overwhelming number of females and the lack of males. The line of kirin is slowly dwindling, so they need help.”
She shrugged as she hovered in the air. “Why don’t they just start integrating into the rest of society?”
I rolled my eyes. “If it were that easy, the batponies would’ve done so on their own, the dragons would’ve done so on their own, and so would the griffons. But they didn’t. They couldn’t Out of fear. Fear is what drives us to follow our emotions and not our brains. Fear is what drove Celestia to toss her sister Luna onto a rock-like satellite for one thousand years--”
“I thought it was the moon,” Guttersnipe interrupted with a tilt of her head.
“A satellite is an object that orbits another in space,” I gave a quick explanation and got right back on topic, “Anyways! Fear is what drove Sunset Shimmer to leave this world and terrorize another. Fear is what drove Starlight Glimmer to a class-based system in which those who served no value were tossed out in favor of a sick definition of equality. Do you understand now?”
The realization must have hit the pegasus. She slowly reeled her head back as she thought about it. “Ohhhhh. So you’re saying the kirins are too afraid to engage with the rest of us.” She paused mid-sentence, and her eyes went wide. “Wait a sec...does that mean that Freeze Flame was also pushed by fear?”
I nodded. “Ding-ding-ding. You’re on the ball today, Guts. Yes. I believe that she was too ingrained within her own fear to think reasonably, and found herself down a path of hatred that would...burn anyone who stood in her way.” I thought back to it. Her final moments as she fell off the city. Her twitching body as it slowly fell limp and became a lifeless corpse. It was never a pretty thing to hark back to. But her fear...is what led her to this. Ultimately, I decided to at least find out what her kind was dealing with. “And now you know. So are you with me or not, Guts?”
The red mare landed next to me. “Heck yeah I am. Let’s see how the kid’s been doing.”
I knocked on the door.
After a few moments, the young mare answered. “Hello? Oh it’s you, sir. And...who are you?”
“This here is--”
“Guttersnipe Poinsettia! At yo service, sweetums!” she said with a dramatic bow.
Cozy had an awkward smile on her face in response. “Oh, um...hi...you’re ready to take me to see those kirins, huh? And I assume...she’s gonna escort us?”
I took a peek behind her. The house was still in neat condition. She had the occasional piece of paper here and there. Huh. Likely notes that she wanted to throw away, but couldn’t. “That’s right,” I replied, “Guts here, is gonna watch out for us while we have the meeting.”
The pink pegasus gingerly rubbed one hoof against the other. “I see...do you really think this will help them out? Me talking to them, I mean.”
“You have a knack for explanations and getting others to listen to what you have to say,” I explained, “Now it’s time for you to make use of that talent in a way that benefits others and not just yourself.”
She had a doubtful look on her face for a moment. But then she shut her eyes. Cozy finally looked at me with newfound determination. “Alright. Let’s go.”
I looked to my side. “Alright, Guts. Let’s--” I blinked. She was no longer there. “Guts!”
The crimson pegasus had taken it upon herself to inspect the interior of Cozy’s home. Normally we would at least request entry before we barged in. But the kid didn’t seem to mind. “It’s okay,” she assured me, “you have every right to search wherever and whenever you want. I have nothing to hide…”
I almost wanted to hug the young mare, but Guttersnipe stopped everything as she made her final flying lap through the home. “All clear boss. Nothing strange going on.”
“Thank you,” I replied flatly and beckoned her with my hoof to usher her out of the home. “Gah...you…”
“Sorry, hehe…” she said back with a nervous grin as she exited above Cozy through the front door.
The pink mare giggled. “Heehee! I mean…” she quickly abandoned it and cleared her throat. “Sure. I’m ready when you guys are.”
That settled it.
Soon, we were off to the train station. It would be an extremely long ride to the Peaks of Peril, so I had already taken the liberty to pack certain items. Card games, water bottles, a few sandwiches, and of course my notes.
Though, the mares didn’t seem interested. They preferred to pass the time by talking to each other. Something I could get behind. Guttersnipe was utterly demented when in the field, but outside of it, she was akin to a sister of sorts. I could overhear their chatter as I reclined on the sat that was on the opposite end of the aisle from them.
“So what do ya want outta life, kiddo?”
“Um...well...I don’t know,” Cozy replied. “For now...I just want to not be hated anymore as well as do some good for this world.”
Guttersnipe put a hoof around her neck. “Then you’re in luck! See, Equestria’s fallen to loads of corruption in the past few years due to the fact that the Elements of Harmony are...aging a bit. They can’t be expected to be everywhere at once. Ponies like Pale and I are what helps stop that corruption from spreading to the good folks, yo.”
I could just barely make out the stars in the pink mare’s eyes. “W-wow...that sounds nice. Maybe I could...nah. That’s not gonna happen.”
Guttersnipe let her go. “Hey, you never know, kiddo. If ya do well, then we might just let ya help us out from time to time. For now, we need to see what’s going on with these kirins.”
How nice that they were able to speak with each other. It more or less continued the whole way there. The mares played with the cards, I Spy, patty-cake, and even a few guessing games. Wait, was this a mission or a field trip? Meh, I couldn’t say a word, given that I had essentially packed lunches.
It was about another hour or so, and we were finally able to exit the train, dropped off in the desolate wasteland of the desert near the Peaks of Peril.
“Alright,” I said as I trotted off the train and onto the loading platform, “Is everypony ready?”
“Heck yeah!” Guttersnipe shouted, “What about you, Coze?”
The pink mare performed her usual hoof rub when she was nervous. “I...I am. Let’s get this done.”
And so, we were off. We all kept a low profile as we trotted across the desert lands and into the valley that housed Kirin Grove. It was a bit humid, but nothing too crazy since I had packed plenty of water which we all made use of.
We entered the grassy, green forested lands that essentially consumed us. Whew. Thank goodness it was much cooler here. But I could already hear voices in the distance. We must have been getting closer to the Grove.
“You two stay behind me,” I commanded them, “I’ve been here once before, so I’m more familiar with this territory. Kirins don’t like to be surprised or shocked. So I’ll go on ahead. When I give the signal, that’s when it’s okay for you two to follow, alright?”
Guttersnipe gave a silent salute, and Cozy nodded.
I took a few more steps forward. My hooves crackled against the fallen leaves of the forest floor and my body rustled against the leaves. I did my best to stay quiet, though. It didn’t seem like they noticed me just yet. Alright, good. Now if I could just--
“AH!”
SWOOSH!
I had accidentally stepped in a net trap. I was hoisted into the air and stuck in its confines along with a bunch of leaves. “Dammit, dammit--” I covered my mouth. They normally kept quiet so the fact that I spoke is just what could draw them to me. “...shit.”
“Over here!” I heard a female voice shout.
By the time I realized, it was too late. About a dozen kirins--all mares--surrounded me from below with confused looks on their faces.
“A stallion?” one of them asked. “Well now…”
“That’s rare. What should we do with him?” asked another. “Take him home and take turns?”
“Hehehe...I’ve got an idea for sure,” another said while she eyed me up. “He’s gonna be tired by the time we’re done, but I think he’ll manage.”
I was both scared and a bit curious as to what they planned to do. I was going to try and cut myself free with my combat knife, but instead…
“HALT!” I heard another female voice, this one much more powerful and commanding. Who could this be?
Whoever it was, I hoped they didn’t intend on keeping me captive for any weird things they had in mind.